The beauty of grotesque...

It's been a while since I shopped for books couple of months ago but this definitely worth the wait... I've readOut by NatsuoKirinobefore and it definitely spook me out, hehhe =P So, I decided to get this one as well because I love the cover (looks like Gwen Stefani'sHarajukuGirl) and also because I admire Natsuo's work too... It's actually the second Natsuo's book that has been translated to English... For those who are not familiar with Natsuo's writing, she's not your typical thriller/mystery author...

Her books focused more on the depth and the edginess of the character itself, not very much on the crime... But I must agreed it's definitely turn out brilliantly and separate her from other author in the same genre such as Coben, Grisham & Patterson...So, if you expecting twisted plot, cringing bloody scene or murder mystery, you won't get it from this book... Most of us when ask to conjured images of the Japanese, we always associate them with integrity, politeness and kawaii-nessbut I'm afraid this book will shattered your perception entirely because the Japanese are not really sugar, spice and everything nice... As one of the countries with higher suicide rate, they definitely have a very2 grotesque side underneath...

Okey, back to the story, it's actually narrated by unnamed character, whose entire life shadowed by her monstrously beautiful sister, Yuriko... Being the less beautiful, she grew up envious and harbored a deep hatred to her sister... Completely aware of her gift, Yuriko used her beauty viciously to get what her heart desired... Loving the power she have over men, Yuriko spent her teenage years experimenting and perfecting her technique...

Her sister however, struggling very hard in her studies in order to be accepted to the very prestigiousschool and to distance herself fromYuriko... At the new school, she have a difficult time to adapt because she can't fit with any of them and have to settle with Kazue as her friend, a very ambitious girl who kept being mocked by the others... But fate however intervened, Yuriko managed to get to the same school despite her bad results, by using her good looks as a ticket... And the sisterly rivals started again, but this time it changed their life forever...

20 years later, 2 prostitutes, Yuriko and Kazue are murdered with the same motives and suspect in Tokyo... Coincidentally or maybe not, the 2 of them are from the same school, and also happened to have something else in common, their relationship with the narrator... What exactly are the narrator roles that have influenced their choices of life? How evil and spiteful a person can be? It's a very2 engrossing read and believe me, you don't want to put it down, ever~ ^_^